The Unluckiest Of Them All (Play On Luck 0)
by TheChuckles
Summary: Kathrine Hughes and her father Dave expect to be betrayed when they invite Isaac and his sisters into their home during the dawn of the end of the world. What they don't know, however, is that the decisions they make in the weeks to come will have ramifications that effect people they don't even know years later. Prequel to Dumb Luck: How I Survive the Apocalypse. Enjoy and Review!
1. Chapter 1: Perspective Is Key

_KAT'S POV _

The knocking on the door almost sounds foreign. It's been so long since people have stopped knocking, instead breaking down doors and windows to grab what they want. I expect that more than I expect somebody to simply knock on my door, like they're still a civilized human being. The dead start to walk, and within two weeks everything starts to crumble. _Jesus_. The CDC claims to be working on a cure, but by the time they actually find one, it'll be too late. And besides, what's the probability that they'll swoop in and clean up the streets of Annapolis, Maryland in time? Doubtful.

My footsteps echo on the wooden stairs as I descend to the bottom floor, where the knocking has intensified. I aim my father's shotgun at the door, waiting for the people behind it to kick it in any second now. Honestly i'm surprised that the frosted windows on both sides of the door remain intact. I hear muffled words. Yelling, I realize. _Should I open the door?_ It could be somebody that needs help, but at the same time it could be a whole group of thugs trying to lure me into opening the door.

"_Don't_!" My dad whispers, standing off to the side in his pajamas, which consist of a plain white top and plad PJ pants. "Those could be dangerous people!"

"They could need help!" I whisper back. "And I have this, remember." I nod to my shotgun.

"You don't even know how to use that damn thing!"

"So? How hard can it be?"

"Maybe they'll just go away! We need to conserve resources Kathrine!" Dad reaches for his shotgun, but I monuver it out of his reach.

"We need to at least try to help them! We're not bad people!"

I rest my hand on the door knob. Well, here goes nothing. I take a deep breath and open the door. Outside, I see three people looking panicked and flustered. The leader of the small group is a tall black man with short dreadlocks, wearing baggy jeans and a Baltimore Ravens jersey. Flanking his sides are two black women who appear to be sisters. Both have the same big blue eyes, the same sleek black hair falling past their shoulders, the same curvature of their frowns planted on their faces. Both are wearing loose fitting shirts with cheetah print and skinny jeans.

They all raise their hands when they see my shotgun. All three of them appear to be weaponless, but the man could easily be hiding anything under his jersey or behind his back.

"We-we don't mean any trouble, ma'am. We just need somewhere to crash. Our apartment building was, well, overrun." The black man says calmly, pointing to a pillar of smoke in the distance. "I'm Isaac. These are my sisters, Veronica and Vanessa."

"You armed?" In the distance, gunfire erupts, but i'm used to it by this point. The government keeps telling everybody everything will be alright, but I think everybody knows this is the end.

"I got a machete and a pistol on my belt." Isaac replies.

"I gotta knife." Veronica says, popping her bubble gum loudly.

"I need to hold onto them, and you guys can spend a couple nights here." I lower my shotgun. "I'm Kathrine Hughes, but everybody calls me Kat. This is my dad, Dave." I pull dad into the doorframe, and he waves reluctantly. A strained "Hello" escapes past his fake smile.

"Nice to meet you, Kat and Dave Hughes." Isaac extends his hand. I shake it with great caution, but he doesn't try to pull anything. His grasp is soft, nothing like I expect. He pulls a machete out of his belt, along with a pistol and hand them both to me. Veronica pulls her knife out of her boot and gives that to me as well.

"Well, c'mon in. You guys hungry?"

"Yes ma'am." Isaac replies, smiling a smile with bright white teeth. All three of them walk in slowly, checking out their new surroundings. If they were to show up a couple weeks ago, I would have gladly let them stay here until they could move back into their apartment. Times are changing, though, and I have to be cautious. No more get togethers with new neighbors or making friends.

"The dining room's over there." I say, pointing to the left, where the white carpeting turns into hardwood floor. "We'll be having lunch in a little bit. The living room is just past the dining room, if you want to wait there. Watch some news or whatever. We have Netflix." I'm surprised that we even still have electricity, but Dad says that it'll probably go out soon.

"I think we'll do that then." Isaac says. "Do you want us to take off our shoes?"

I'm taken aback by his peculiar question. "Yeah. Just set 'em by the door I guess. Don't wanna scratch the hardwood floor." I throw on a smile for effect. It works. The three of them slip out of their boots, walking around the corner to the dining room. A couple seconds later, I hear the TV turn on.

"What do you think you're doing? We're not running some kind of hotel here!" Dad grumbles, dragging me by my arm halfway up the stairs. I pull away.

"They needed help! And besides, they seem like nice people! Isaac asked if they should take off their shoes. Who does that anymore? Huh? We have their weapons, it'll be alright! Anything fishy happens, and we'll kick them out. Okay?"

"Has it crossed your mind that they might be lulling us into a false sense of safety? Lay low and strike when we don't expect it?"

"Well, I-" When my Dad starts to rant, he rants long and hard.

"It's not like how it was anymore. People are changing. People aren't staying dead, and the government is falling apart. Have you not seen the footage from Houston? Madison? New York? Atlanta? It's getting worse everyday, and we can't just start letting people into OUR home just because they need help! Open your eyes! The whole world needs help!"

"Dad, please, just let them stay for one night? I'll stay up and watch them. If anything happens i'll call the cops."

"The cops have much bigger problems right now." Dad sighs. "Fine, one night. However, if I see any sign of trouble, they leave immediately. Deal?"

"Deal." I hand him the weapons, which he puts in his room.

When we return downstairs, Isaac and his sisters are sitting on our big L shaped couch, watching one of the many 24/7 news broadcasts. Dad stays in the dining room, preparing sandwiches for everybody. I sit down on the empty side of the couch, kicking my feet up on the arm rest, resting my shotgun on the floor next to me.

"Man, it's getting worse out there everyday." Vanessa or Veronica, I can't tell, remarks.

"I hope Dad's okay." The other sister says.

"Where is he? Your dad?" I ask.

"Oh, he's somewhere around Macon, Georgia. Haven't heard from him in a while." Isaac says, eyes still focused on the broadcast on TV. A debate between a couple nameless senators is going on, interjected with shots of dead hordes moving through streets all over the United States. Those things look pretty nasty, even when the news station blurs out the bad parts. A couple more gunshots echo in the distance.

"It's just insane, don't you think? People coming back from the dead and all." I say, shaking my head as the people on TV spew conspiracy theories.

"Yeah, I know...I just wonder how it started. I mean, it has to be some kind of virus or something." Isaac says.

"Maybe it's airborne." One of the sisters chimes in.

"Could be, Vanessa, but then wouldn't we all get sick?"

"Who knows."

"Somebody must." Veronica says.

I feel my phone vibrating before it starts to ring. By the time I pull it out of my jeans, a stanza of Pokerface is already finished. A picture of my best friend Courtney and I from out trip to Florida last summer shows on the screen.

"Hey!" I say, putting the phone up to my ear.

"_Hi Kat_." Courtney sounds sad, completely unlike her usual happy, outgoing self. I pick up on it immediately.

"What's going on? Everything okay?"

"_Well, not really...do you mind if I come over? Crash at your place for a while?_"

"Of course, Court! Whatever you need. Do you wanna talk about what happened?"

"_When I get to your place. I'll be there in like 20 minutes okay? Bye._" When I end the conversation, I realize that the conversation in the room has died down.

"Who was that?" Dad asks, carrying in a tray loaded with sandwiches and plates. Isaac and his sisters each grab a plate and a sandwich.

"Courtney. She's coming over." I say as I grab a plate myself. Dad nods, heading back into the kitchen. He returns a few moments later with chips and drinks. I move my legs so he can sit down. Everybody but Dad focuses on the TV. He plays around with his food, casting glances towards our guests every couple seconds.

"How about we turn something else on?" I ask happily.

"Please. This is depressing." Vanessa says, handing me the remote. I turn on Netflix, probably the only way to watch TV without getting reminded of the shitstorm that's happening all over the country. After some debate, we settle on watching _Silver Linings Playbook_. The sandwiches are gobbled up quickly, and the overall mood goes from tense to relaxed over the course of the movie. It turns out that Vanessa is a huge, huge, huge Jennifer Lawrence fan, so we end up watching _The Hunger Games_ immediately following_ Silver Linings Playbook_. When we're done with the movie, it's dark out.

Dad gets up, stretching his back and legs. _Oh, the perks of being old._ He makes his nightly runs around the house, locking all of the windows and turning off all of the lights. He starts pushing some of the cabinets and dressers in front of the windows as well, struggling to move them by himself. Isaac sees this, wordlessly walking over and helping him finish.

A couple casual knocks on the door jars everybody out of the relaxed mood. Isaac pushes Dad back a couple feet, peering out of the frosted glass window.

"A young woman with a couple bags. Doesn't have any weapons as far as I can see." He reports.

"Is she blonde?" I ask, realizing who it is.

"Yeah."

"That would be Courtney, my friend." I awkwardly rush towards the door, handing Dad his shotgun. Courtney's face lights up when I open the door.

"Kat! Oh my god, I was afraid something happened!" She drops her bags and pulls me into a hug. She's dressed in a light North Face coat and jeans, but she still feels frigid cold.

"Girl you're cold! Get in here!" I pull her inside, grabbing some of her bags. "Have you been outside all day? You were supposed to be here hours ago."

"Yeah, I got in a little trouble down at the stupid gas station. There were these huge freaking lines at the gas stalls, so I parked and went inside to get some stuff. When I came back out, my car was gone!" Courtney shrugs off her coat, placing it on the coat hanger. Her blonde hair falls in greasy tangles down to her shoulders.

"You walked all the way here?"

"Had to. Nobody would fucking give me a ride."

"Oh my god, do you know how dangerous that is with all those things out there? Why didn't you call?" If i'd have known Courtney had to walk halfway across town when it's bordering on complete anarchy, woah, I wouldn't have let that happen. It's scary out there.

"Didn't have any service. Stupid towers were down or something. And these guys kept following me, so I had to run around the block a couple times to loose them." She sighs. "I didn't even have time to take a shower today."

"Oh you poor thing." I rub her shoulder.

"Wait, you said some guys followed you?" Isaac implores.

"Yeah, three guys in all black. I'm sorry, but I don't think I know you..."

"I'm Isaac. Are you sure they didn't follow you here?" Isaac sounds worried, and I understand why now.

"I don't think so, why?"

"Dad, put something in front of the door." I say. Isaac goes to help him right away.

"Wait, you think they could still be around here somewhere?" Courtney asks.

"Just being cautious." I say. "Why don't we get some of your stuff upstairs?"

Dad and Isaac end up pushing the dining room table in front of the door, setting it up on its side so it also covers the frosted windows on either side. I help get Courtney situated in one of the guest rooms upstairs. Once i'm done with that, I show Vanessa and Veronica to their room. Isaac opts to sleep on the couch, in case anything happens.

"You better watch him." Dad tells me sternly, handing me his shotgun.

"I will." Dad glances at me one last time before he goes upstairs. I sit halfway up the stairs, in position to watch the door and hear if Isaac decides to do anything funny. I doubt it though. He seems like a genuinely nice guy.

Nothing happens within the first hour, so I resort to playing on my phone. I don't remember falling asleep, but I must have, because I nearly fall down the stairs when i'm jolted awake by the sound of breaking glass.


	2. Chapter 2: Watching The World Burn

_KAT'S POV_

It sounds like a window has been broken. When my eyes adjust to the near darkness, I realize that one of the two huge frosted glass windows next to the door is completely shattered. Two figures emerge from the shadows of night. I don't make out any weapons, but they could easily be concealing them. It's definitely not Isaac.

Well, hold that thought. If he really wanted to, couldn't he have fabricated that whole story earlier? Was that even an apartment complex burning in the distance? What if he has other people and they waited until tonight to attack? But that wouldn't make sense. _Ugh, i'm so confused._ It couldn't have been him or his sisters, or could it?

From my precarious spot on the stairs, I remain invisible for the moment. The hallway light above is off, shrouding the staircase in darkness. I silently fumble for the shotgun as I watch the two assailants haul in what looks like a couple backpacks. Bombs maybe? What the hell are they doing with backpacks?

I pump the shotgun slowly, not to draw any attention towards me. A cold breeze comes in through the broken window, chilling me immensely. Even with the bitter cold, I aim at one of the robbers when he suddenly disappears from view. A fair amount of grunting and shuffling can be heard. Is somebody fighting them?

Taking a huge chance, I race down the stairs and jump on the second robber. They go down in a clumsy heap, pulling their forearms across their face to prevent harm.

"Kat stop! You know me man!" A familiar teenage voice screeches, curling up into a ball on the glass covered floor. I cannot believe this.

"Joshua Banks? What the actual fuck man?!" Josh lives with his aunt and uncle next door. One of the quiet types, into reading and writing and all the kind of stuff. I wouldn't even know him if he hadn't mowed my lawn for the last 3 summers, since he was 15. He stays in pretty good shape, for a book nerd. Short and thin, with slightly pale skin and styled shaggy blond hair.

"I can explain! Just let me up!" He sounds flustered.

"Why are you breaking into my house?" I ask in fury, stepping away so he can sit up at least. Isaac shows up a second later with another teenage boy locked in his arms. This one has brown hair about the same length as Josh's. This one is taller though, and more muscular. I can't see much else in the horrible lighting.

"Let'em go, Isaac. He's just a friend." I say through gritted teeth.

"You sure?"

"Yeah." Isaac releases the kid, who trips on himself and falls on the floor, next to Josh.

"Explain. Now." I say, folding my arms. I almost freaking shot this damn kid, he better have a good explanation.

"I-well, uh, I had my friend Lucas over, alright. And we were up watching movies and stuff, when we hear somebody knock on our door. And, and, Uncle Bobby went to go answer it, and there were like these three guys in all black. Masks and everything. They shot him in the chest. We saw it happen from the hallway, but I don't think they saw us. Aunt Kim came rushing out and they shot her to, and I think they're dead and we grabbed some stuff and climbed out my window and I didn't know where to go so I came here but you wouldn't answer the door-" Josh stutters through his story, complete with ragged breathing and sniffles.

"Oh that's horrible I'm so sorry." I honestly don't know what to say.

Suddenly Issac says, "Kat, we need to get something in front of these windows now!" I see his train of thought immediately, connecting the dots. Those guys are the ones who were following Courtney and they thought she went into the house next door. If they saw Josh and his friend climb out his window...oh no.

"What the fuck is going on down there?" Dad and Courtney appear at the top of the stairs, Veronica and Vanessa behind them.

"It's just Josh!" I answer.

"Josh Banks?"

"Yup!"

"We need help blocking this window!" Isaac says.

"We can help." Vanessa and Veronica push forward and race down the stairs. I pull Josh and his friend, Lucas, out of the way.

"Uh, grab the dining room table and prop it up. I'll get some nails and a hammer." I race past Isaac and his sisters in the dining room, through the living room, and down the stairs to the basement. The cement is cold on my bare feet, leeching out any warmth I had left. The basement spans the entire length of the house. Dad and I had been slowly working on renovating it, but after everything started happening, the basement seems less important.

The air feels damp and smells of sawdust. I switch on the light, casting a soft yellow glow on the bare cement floor and naked wood beams holding the ceiling up. It takes a minute, but I find a large hammer and a jar filled with nails. By the time I get back upstairs, the dining room table is lodged firmly over the gap Josh and Lucas opened.

"Here." I thrust the hammer and nails into Isaac's waiting hands. He goes to work on the table, maneuvering around the table legs.

"Are those guys coming over here?" Courtney asks, stepping away from the door.

"I don't know, Court. Maybe they're just, I don't know, uh-"

"That house next door is on fire!" Dad says from upstairs. Josh's eyes go wide. He bounds up the stairs, his friend right behind him. Courtney and I get upstairs and into the bathroom where I can see Josh's house in a roaring blaze. Wild patches of fire are burning outside of windows , columns of smoke billowing up towards the sky.

"That's my house! My-" Josh starts, gaping in awe. The flickering light of the fire illuminates his face a ghastly orange. I can make out wet spots on his cheeks. Wordlessly, I entangle my hand with his for support. He doesn't seem to notice at first, but I feel his hand squeeze mine. I don't know what to say. Anything I could say would just seem shallow or false. I don't know what it's like to have my family killed and my house burned down within minutes of each other.

I hear several pairs of feet pounding up the stairs. Exiting the bathroom, I'm about to ask Veronica what's going on, but she puts a hand over my mouth.

"Shhh!" She whispers. _What is this, betrayal?_ Thoughts of death swim through my head. I bite down hard on her hand and start yelling.

"Shut up!" Isaac says.

"What the hell?" Dad asks.

"Those guys are here! Everybody needs to shut the hell up!" Isaac whispers harshly. Courtney's eyes go wide.

"Are they in the house?" She asks, already running for the end of the hallway.

"No, they knocked on the door. I looked through the peep hole. Three guys, all in black. Each of them have heavy guns and blood on their clothes. We need to get the hell out of here!"

"I don't think so! You're not going anywhere with us!" Dad tells Isaac. "This is all connected, isn't it? Those are your guys out there, aren't they? And tell the truth!"

Isaac looks frustrated. "Are you kidding me? Why would they be with me?"

"You're their inside man, aren't you? Get our guard down and then attack in the middle of the night, huh? Sneaky." Dad looks at me. "Where's the shotgun?"

"Downstairs. Dad, I don't think they have anything to do with this-"

"Of course you don't!" Dad starts for the stairs, but Vanessa and Veronica block his path.

"Get the fuck out of my way!" He growls. The sisters hold their ground.

"You're not going down there. Those dudes could break in at any second." Vanessa says, crossing her defiantly.

"The hell they are! You're probably using them as an excuse to keep us up here, huh?! I bet they aren't even down there!"

The familiar sound of a glass window breaking answers Dad.

"Oh shit." He whispers.

"Can we get out from up here?" Isaac asks, gently resting his hand on Dad's shoulder.

"Unless you want to go through a window, no. And i'm not having my house burned down."

"Where's my weapons?" Isaac asks.

"My room. Kat, get everybody else outside. We'll hold these douche bags off."

"Dad, no." I whisper, knowing that Isaac and Dad aren't any match for three guys with big guns.

"Go!" He pushes me away, ducking into his room with Isaac. I don't have a choice.

"C'mon! We're getting out of here!" Everybody follows me down the hallway and into my bedroom. I open the window facing away from the burning house. It's at least a 15 foot drop, and i've always been afraid of heights.

"I can't." I mutter. "I can't do this." I back away from the window in fear. There is absolutely no way i'm jumping out that damned window. I'll break my ankle, or maybe one of those not-dead dead things is out there and i'll be eaten alive...I just can't do it.

"I'll go." Veronica volunteers, pulling something from her boot. A knife, I realize.

"I thought you guys gave us all your weapons?"

"Sorry, but we didn't exactly want to be completely helpless. I'll swing back to the front and see if I can't surprise one of those fuckers."

Vanessa grips her sister's arm tightly. "No, you'll kill yourself!"

"I need to do something!" Veronica says, releasing herself from Vanessa's grip and slipping out the window into the darkness. She drops with a grunt, but the rustling of the grass and leaves signals she's still mobile. I hear footsteps on the stairs, and my heart stops. _Oh god, they're here._

"Hide!" I whisper. Vanessa slides into the closet with Lucas. I look around, trying to find some place to hide. Josh drops to the floor and begins to wiggle underneath my bed. Great idea. I slide under the bed as well, pulling the blanket down to cover my tracks. Let's just hope they don't check this room.

Gunshots erupt several times. A scuffle goes down in the hallway, and somebody falls down the stairs. I hear yelling and screaming and people dying. My imagination goes wild. I think ten minutes pass before I hear my Dad being dragged down the stairs. I can tell he's alive because he's yelling at them.

One of the men searches the rest of the house, finally ending up in this room. It's like some kind of twisted game of hide and seek. He opens the closet and seizes Vanessa and Lucas. They screams and fights back, but he subdues the,. I don't know how, since I can't see anything. No guns are fired, but that doesn't rule out the possibility of a knife. They exit the room and travel down the stairs. Josh tenses up next to me.

It then dawns on me that Josh and I have evaded capture. They don't know we're hear, and I need to use that to my advantage.

_ISAAC'S POV_

Each footstep sends another stab of anxiety through my veins. I may have my dad's hunting machete in hand, with Dave covering me, but i'm still nervous beyond belief. I've never killed a man, and now i'm preparing to kill three? No. I don't know if I can do it.

"Come out, come out where ever you are." A European voice calls out menacingly.

"Oh shit." I whisper to myself, backing against the wall even more. When one of those guys opens this door, i'll be right there to slit their throat.

I see the knob turning ever so slightly. Beads of sweat roll down my forehead. Everything is silent. The knob rotates back into its normal position. Has he decided not to open the door? What's going on?

A series of loud shots fill the air, like firecrackers. The door is kicked down. I back away disoriented. The first man strolls in, turning on the light. Dave fires two shots at him, hitting the masked man in the chest. He falls down quietly and suddenly. _Just like that, he's dead._

The remaining two guys enter the room, spraying bullets at Dave. He falls behind the bed, I can't tell if he's okay. The masked men don't see me at first, giving me an opportunity to stab one in the shoulder. Before I can pull out my machete and strike again, something hard hits me in the head. I see stars. Fucker must have hit me with the butt of his gun.

I swing with my first, connecting with something metal, I think his gun. My vision is blurry, but I can make out a black blur coming at me fast. I sloppily dodge and tackle him into the hallway. We crash into the wall and roll onto the floor. I hear more gunshots. The man I'm fighting with grabs my hair and pulls violently. In response, I knee him in the stomach hard. He rolls over so he's on top, connecting his fist with my face twice. A sharp pain erupts near my nose.

With a guttural scream, I roll over, trying to regain control, but i'm lost in a tumble down the stairs. My arm is twisted at an awkward angle along the way, and I hit my head several times. When I get to the bottom, I see that my opponent has a broken neck. He's making a horrible gurgling noise.

"What the fuck." I hear another voice. Warily, I look up to see a figure standing in the doorway, dressed like his partners. A fourth man, I realize. In his arms I see a woman struggling wildly, screaming loudly. Hold up, that's my sister. But which one?

I don't think it matters though, because we've been defeated.


	3. Chapter 3: Fallout

_Sorry for the wait, i've just been really stressed lately. ~TheChuckles_

_ISAAC'S POV _

"Why are you doing this? We didn't do anything to-" I'm cut off by a hard kick to my stomach. The pain is almost nothing compared to my broken nose. The two remaining thugs have my two sisters, Dave, Lucas and myself lined up by the front door. We're all on our knees with hands tied behind our backs. One thug lies dead upstairs, the other a couple feet in front of me. His dead eyes stare daggers through me. Blood has stopped seeping from his broken neck by now.

"Where's the blonde bitch? We saw her on this street!" The leader, Mark I think I've heard him called, bellows. It's Dave who responds.

"We don't know who you're talking out. I swear! We haven't seen a blonde woman at all!" His usual swagger has been completely been erased with fear by this point.

"You see, that right there is a lie." The second one, Caesar says from behind us. "Look what we have here, Mark. I think this one was at the house next door." He nudges Lucas with his boot. "Weren't you?" Lucas doesn't respond, earning him a hard slap in the face by Caesar.

"Don't you have any manners, boy! Answer my question!" He yells into his ear.

"I was there." Lucas whimpers, sinking into himself. _Oh shit, don't give us up! They'll kill us! _

"There, was that so hard?" Mark asks rhetorically. "Where's your friend? He around here somewhere?"

In fear of getting hit again, Lucas starts to cooperate, albeit he lies. "I don't know. H-h-he took off in the other direction."

"You see a blonde woman tonight?"

"No sir."

"What about you two lovely ladies? Caesar turns towards my sisters. It's hard not to tackle him right now, but that would be stupid. I have to bide my time, wait for an opportunity to present itself. Both Veronica and Vanessa tense up when he kneels in front of them.

"Did you two happen to see a blonde woman 'round these parts this evening? Hmm?" His thick european accent makes it hard to understand him, but I can hear the threat in his voice.

"I've seen plenty, but none tonight. Been here since this morning." Vanessa says staring right into Caesar's eyes.

"Why?"

"We came here after our apartment burned down. They took us in."

"I see." Mark and him confere in the corner for a minute. When they return to us, Mark has my machete in his hand. It catches the moonlight, accentuating the gleam of the sleek silver and the red stain running along the blade.

"It's a nice blade." Mark remarks, examining it up close. "Where'd you get it?" I realize he's talking to me.

"It was my dad's. Gave it to me as a present."

"How nice of him." He kneels in front of Lucas, extending the blade until it rests parallel to his neck. "Here's what we're gonna do. We've decided that you fine people are lying to us. We're gonna play a little game. I'll ask all of you a question, and if you give me the wrong answer, you die. Simple enough?"

"Now, kid. Where's your friend, and don't lie to me this time."

"I already told you. He ran the other way, I don't know where he is. You have to believ-" He's cut off when his neck is sliced open. Crimson blood flows from the clean cut down his front and onto the floor like a waterfall. Veronica's shriek accompanies the horrible gurgling noise that escapes Lucas as he falls face first onto the floor into a pool of his own blood.

"Wrong answer." Mark says whimsically. "Who's next?"

"Me." Courtney says from the doorway. Mark turns around in haste and gets smacked in the face by a shovel for his efforts. How long has she been watching this? _Did she let Lucas die?_ What? Confusion courses through my mind as Caesar and Courtney duke it out in front of us.

He ducks her wild swing with the shovel, tackling her through the table and the door. Muttered curses and ragged breathing follow. It dawns on me then that this is my chance. "Help me get my machete!" Veronica and Vanessa manage to avoid the growing pool of blood and end up next to me. Kneeling in front of Mark's incapacitated body.

"Hold him down, I'll try and grab it." I blindly grope around for my machete. A sharp pain in my hand notifies me that i've found the sharp end. I finally manage to grasp the handle, but suddenly i'm shoved off of Mark. I drop the machete in the process. A body lays sprawled out on top of me. It's Courtney. At first I think she's dead, but her ragged breathing tells me otherwise. Bruises cover her face. Her top lip is busted open, and she's unconscious.

Caesar stands in the doorway, shovel in one hand, automatic rifle in the other. "Anybody else wanna try and fuck with me?"

KAT'S POV

"Anybody else wanna try and fuck with me?" The masked man asks once he's thrown Courtney back inside. Josh sits with me on top of the stairs with his head in his hands. It took all I had to restrain him when he friend was killed. How dare these monsters kill an innocent child?

In response to the masked man's question, I fire two quick shots off at him with my shotgun. They both connect with his chest. He drops the shovel and his gun, sinking to his knees. One of the sisters dropkicks him in the face to add insult to injury. I race down the stairs to make sure he's dead. Sure enough, he is.

I go to work cutting everybody's restraints. Vanessa and Veronica help Dad up and rest him on the stairs.

"You okay?" I ask.

He looks at me with grim eyes. "I'm not the one they hurt."

"She needs help." Isaac calls out, holding Courtney's limp body in his arms.

"Oh no!" I rush over to them, careful not to slip in Lucas' blood. Her face is bruised and bloody. "Somebody get the first aid kit in the kitchen!" I help Isaac carry Courtney into the dining room, where we set her on the hardwood floor. Dave and Isaac's sisters follow, making for the cabinents to find the first aid kit.

"I'll go get Josh."

"Be careful." Dad warns.

Josh is still at the top of the stairs, curled up into a ball. He doesn't notice when I sit down next to him and take his head into my lap. His crying echoes loudly in the confined space. It dawns on me that his whole world just came crashing down tonight. His family dead, house burning down outside, and his best friend killed in front of him. What do I even say to comfort him?

"Just let it all out." I coo, patting his head gently. His cries turn into choking sobs that rack his whole body with spasms. There's nothing I can do to lessen his pain. He just has to go through the grieving process like everyone else does. I remember when I found out my mother had finally died of cancer five years ago. It was heartbreaking. I didn't go to work, I didn't eat or sleep or do anything. I was hollow until Dad broke me out of my trance.

I hear a groaning noise from down below. That son of a bitch thug is getting up, I realize with horror. The one knocked out by Courtney's shovel. He starts to stir, but suddenly another person appears from the shadows. Which doesn't make sense because I can clearly see their neck bone. They should be dead...oh wait. That's one of those things!

It crawls towards the alive thug with haste, grabbing his head and taking a huge bite into his neck. His scream is muffled by his neck being crushed. I can't help myself and throw up all over the stairs. It's disgusting. I've never seen one of those things up close before, and it's worse than on TV. Horrible eating sounds emanate from the previously dead robber as it feasts on his former companion.

"Isaac!" I yell, unable to move. He comes running into the front area to see the montrasity that I'm seeing. Everybody except Courtney appears behind him. I hear somebody vomit. Dad rushes past the undead creature and up the stairs to check on me.

"I'm okay, Dad."

"Thank god." We watch Isaac drive his machete into the thing's back, but it doesn't even notice. How is that even possible? That should have easily stopped it from eating. And here it is, not even noticing the machete in its back. Isaac drives his machete into the back of its skull this time, and to my surprise the thing dies.

"How is that even possible? He wasn't bit, just had a broken neck." I ask Dad. He just looks at me speechlessly.

Later on in the night, everybody gathers in the living room. Court is still out like a light, but she's looking better. Vanessa and Veronica have moved some of our shelves in front of the gaping hole that was our front door. We looted the dead bodies after we figured out how to kill the undead creature. On the coffee table between us sits four automatic rifles, two pistols and several big hunting knives. Isaac has returned his machete and pistol to their place on his belt.

"I think he must've been exposed to the virus somehow." Vanessa says. "There's no other way."

"Is it airborne?" Veronica asks. "Are we gonna get it? Have we been exposed?"

"We'll see. If we don't get sick by this time tomorrow, I think we can conclude this thing isn't airborne." Isaac says. "But that means we can't have anybody else breaking in. I'll reinforce all of the exits. There's no help on the way."

"How can you say that? There has to be some kind of police force still in operation." I say.

"Kat, that house next door burned down completely and nobody showed up. Nobody. It's over. Society as we know it is no longer. We're on our own. "


	4. Chapter 4: End Of Days Clearance Sale

_KAT'S POV_

It's been eerily quiet for a little over a week now. Every day less and less cars drive by, every day more and more gunshots can be heard. Miraculously we still have power. Apparently it's not bad or getting worse along the west coast. At least that's what the news broadcasts say.

"We need to go get some more groceries." Dad says, gesturing towards the empty refrigerator.

I ask, "Do you think we need to bring any money?" I know that the police and fire department have put all their attention towards fighting the living dead, but do the simple things like paper money still matter?

Dad replies, "Probably not, but bring some just in case honey. I just want to be well stocked before they run out of supplies."

"Okay. I'll call Isaac and we'll drive over to the store."

"Can I come?" Courtney asks, striding into the room wearing her pajamas. She yawns loudly.

"Sure."

"Okay sweet. Where are we going?"

"Grocery store."

"Great, I need to get out of this damn house. Gimmie a minute to change."

While Court changes, I call Isaac to have him pick us up. His sisters and him took my truck to check out their apartment and see if they could pick up anything. The last time he texted me, they were helping some neighbors pack their things. He pulls into the driveway ten minutes later. Several garbage bags and suitcases sit in the truck bed covered with a light layer of snow. I didn't even notice it was snowing again.

Courtney finishes changing and comes with me to help them move their stuff inside. We have to walk around to the back door because we permanently blocked off the front door with wooden panels. The windows are also boarded up, except for a little gap in each one that can be used to see out onto the street.

"You can set up in the spare bedroom upstairs." I tell the sisters as we head outside. The crisp crunch of snow on the ground reminds me of the horrible munching sounds the monster made while eating one of the robbers last week. None of us have gotten sick since. That disproves the theory that the virus is transmitted through the air, at least. Since the incident, we've start a watch cycle every night to ensure something like that doesn't catch us off guard again.

While my mind wanders, the three of us enter my black Ram truck, Isaac in the drivers' seat. It's toasty warm inside the cab. I take off my gloves and shrug off my scarf after i've shut the door. Isaac pulls out of the driveway and starts down the street wordlessly. He drives at a reluctant 25 MPH. The plows haven't bothered to do their job since it began snowing earlier this week. Traveling through town we don't encounter many cars. The ones we actually do see speed by at blinding speeds to who knows where.

I watch two people fight on the sidewalk. "Isaac, do you have your pistol?"

"Of course. You have your shotgun?"

"Yeah." I reply.

"Good. I don't know how it's gonna be at the store. Maybe it'll be normal." He wishes out loud.

"Let's hope so." Courtney says. "Listen, I don't have a weapon. Can you two watch out for me in there?"

"I got you." Isaac beats me to the punch. "We'll have to find you a weapon. Do you think the gun store is safe?"

"Probably already looted. What about Wal-Mart? Don't they keep guns?" Courtney suggests.

"Yeah, but if they're still in business we'll have to buy one." Isaac points out. A wicked idea pops into my head.

"Why don't we just take some?"

Courtney and Isaac both look at me like i'm mad.

"What? Everybody else is doing it!" I point out. "We'd never get busted! And you said it yourself man, it's the freaking end of days! Who the hell cares if we rob Wal-Mart? What's the worst that can happen to us, jail? Nobody has time anymore."

"She does make a good point." Courtney says. "And, it'd be pretty kickass to rob Wal-Mart."

Isaac just shakes his head, but at least he's smiling. "Let's get the grocery store out of the way, and then we'll talk about other criminal endeavours. Deal?"

"Deal." Courtney and I say as we pull into the grocery store parking lot. As we exit my truck I see a group of people run out of the store, each with shopping carts full of groceries.

"Well, that answers your earlier question, Kat. Looks like we don't need any money." Isaac jokes. "Let's try and keep it civil though, please. I don't want any confrontations."

"Sure thing, boss man." Courtney says with a wink. We're cautious as we approach the automatic doors. I have my shotgun pumped and ready for use, just in case there's some crazies in there somewhere. We walk into chaos. People, some in masks, some not, roam around the store wildly, dumping supplies into shopping carts. Several skirmishes break out and then dissipate as people move on. It sounds more like a crowded gymnasium than a grocery store. Somebody runs by us without even looking, another person hot on their heels trying to grab something off of them. There aren't even any damn cashiers.

"Okay, we need non-perishable food items. Nothing that has to be refrigerated. Courtney and I will take a cart together, Kat you grab another one. If anything happens, call for me." Isaac and Courtney take off towards one end of the store while I the other. I pick an aisle that's not crowded to walk down. I make a quick sweep, dumping boxes of instant oatmeal and mashed potatoes into the cart. At the last second, I run back and grab some cereal. Reese's Peanut Butter Crunch specifically, because damn who doesn't like that stuff?

The next aisle is a little more packed, but I still manage to get through unscathed. I pick up cans of ravioli and soup, corn and peas and every other vegetable I see. Bottles of ketchup and mustard are added to my growing stash. It's in the third aisle I sweep that I encounter trouble. Strolling down the junk food aisle, several people try to elbow me out of their way as they reach for gummy bears. I promptly kick them in the shins and grab the candy they were reaching for. Dirty glares are cast my way, but they get over it.

After several more minutes of shopping, I wheel my full car around to the front of the store, wedging it between a cashier's booth and the magazine rack. I text Isaac telling him to come up front so we can leave. As I go to put my phone away, some guy in a suit tries to grab it from me. I slap him in the face but he keeps trying to grab it, ignoring my attempts to stop him completely.

"Get the fuck away from me, creep!" I shriek, hitting him in the temple with my shotgun. It accidentally goes off. The man covers his ears in pain and stumbles away holding his head. I turn around to see somebody grabbing stuff out of my cart. Two skinny teenagers that look tweeked out. I shout at them, but they don't listen. _I warned you_, I think as I shoot the floor near their feet. They finally get my message and run, dropping items they grabbed as they go.

"Hey sweetie, you should give me the gun." Another guy has materialized behind me. I spin around, aiming the gun in his dirt coated face. I notice a grisly bite wound on his outstretched arm. The bite marks are crusted over with blood, but the center looks nasty. Yellow pus and blood slowly ooze from the wound onto the floor. The man doesn't seem to care. I take a step back, disgusted.

"Were you bit?" I ask sternly.

"By one of those dead things. Doesn't matter. Hand over the gun, doll." He makes a grab for my gun. I sidestep him, allowing Isaac to promptly shove him to the ground.

"Let's get the hell out of here." He says. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just a little rattled." We exit the store with two full carts. Isaac shoos away a couple people that try to mooch off of our haul by growling at them. He's a pretty big dude, but wearing a dark grey hoodie and black jeans with a machete strapped on his belt? No wonder why people didn't bother him in the store. Together, the three of us load the back of the truck full of food. We end up tossing in the carts as well, because why not?

"Now, onto Wal-Mart!" Courtney says valiantly. She doesn't get any resistance. There are many more people at Wal-Mart than at the grocery store, but that only means a bigger scale chaotic mess. We run for the back of the store, Courtney grabbing several items of clothing off the racks as we go. The sporting goods part of the store is dismantled. Fishing gear and basketballs everywhere.

"Quick sweep, and then we're out of here." Isaac says. The three of us each take an aisle to forage from. I grab a couple metal water bottles and some basic sleeping bags, because that's all that's left on the shelves. We meet up at the back of the store. Courtney has several pairs of hunting jackets shoved into a cart along with her other clothes. Isaac and I dump our hauls in the cart as well.

"The gun section was completely raided." He starts, "But I managed to find this!" He holds out a small pistol to Courtney. She goes ecstatic. Isaac flashes a couple boxes of ammo. "This is all they had, so use it sparingly. Let's ditch this place."

"Bitches better watch out! Courtney Waters, armed and dangerous!" Courtney bellows as we leave the store. "Get wrecked!" She yells as she fires several shots into the air. _Oh brother_. Armed with her new gun, Court wants to raid some more poor businesses. I admit it is actually kind of fun, yes I know that sounds sick, but Isaac shuts her idea down.

"We're doing this out of necessity, not for the fun of it."

"I'm here for the fun of it." I joke. They both laugh.

"Seriously guys." He says seriously, but he breaks up laughing a couple seconds later. The ride home is much better than the ride before. We arrive home with an impressive bounty. Everybody comes out to help us bring in and organize the goods. We stack all the food in a neat pile in the unfinished basement along with the sleeping bags I picked up.

"I'm going back out there. We need to stockpile as much stuff as we can. Anybody coming with me?" Isaac announces once we completely finish unloading all out goodies.

"I'm going for sure!" Josh proclaims, along with Veronica.

"Kat?" He asks tentatively.

"I'll pass. I've had my share of robbery and crime for the day. I'm gonna go take a nap." I settle down on the couch as they leave.

_ISAAC'S POV_

I still can't believe that we actually robbed a couple stores. What's even more disturbing though, is that nobody tried to stop us. It was some kind of sick feeding frenzy. Courtney and Kat seemed to enjoy it plenty enough, but it's still gnawing at my stomach. That's not who we are. We don't steal for fun. It's not some kind of game, it's serious. A million different things could've happened, somebody could have gotten hurt. Ask my father, currently doing time for armed robbery in Georgia.

"Almost done pumping gas?" I ask Veronica as Josh and I leave the gas station. There wasn't much left, it was one of the first places to get pillaged. We scooped up some junk food and cigarettes mainly, because I know Dave smokes.

"Yeah, managed to fill the tank and all of these." She gestures to the array of gas cans in the back of the truck.

"Impressive work, lieutenant. I'm surprised there was anything left." We're the only people here. Everybody else who's still out has set their sights on the bigger stores.

"Right?" My sister smiles. "It's getting dark, we should be heading back. As if to hammer in the point, I see one of the walking dead appear around the corner of the building. It snarls when it sees us, picking up its pace.

"Oh god, kill it!" Josh shrieks, stepping back a couple feet.

"Get in the truck, i'll handle it." Reluctantly, I pull out my machete and advance. The former person snarls louder, reaching his hands out in anticipation of a meal. It saddens me to drive my weapon through his skull. The body goes limp as it falls to the snow covered asphalt. Blackish red blood stains the snow. The smell is horrible.

"I can't believe this." I say when I return to the truck. "That was a person, probably just a couple days ago. It's insane..."

"It's just how it is now, bro. We'll make it." My sister pats my shoulder. "Let's get home before it gets too dark. I don't wanna be stuck out here with them at night."

"Yeah, I guess." I mumble, starting the truck. The drive home is silent and slow. I have to maneuver around two accidents on main street and avoid several undead monsters. It seems they've been drawn to the crashes. _Does noise attract them?_

When we return, we park the truck close to the side of the house. Vanessa and Dave come out to check on us. Together the five of us haul the gasoline into the house, storing it at the far end of the basement. Dave makes a quick dinner. Kat's woken up. We all sit in the living room to eat while catching up on the latest news.

"The following cities have now set up refugee camps: Atlanta, San Antonio, San Francisco, Baltimore, Buffalo and Green Bay. Citizens should report to the nearest safe zone in the calmest fashion possible. Avoid the highways if possible. If you encounter any reanimated, avoid them at all costs. If this is impossible, the only known way to kill them is by damaging their brain. I repeat, the only known way to kill the reanimated is by damaging the brain. We go now to-"

The power goes out.

"Damn it!" Dave curses, struggling to his feet. "Damn transformer must've went down somewhere."

"Look outside, guys." Josh says, pulling back the curtains a little. "Everything is dark. What do we do?"

"It's gonna get cold soon with the heat off. Do we still have running water?" Vanessa asks.

"Probably not. Kat honey, go and grab some candles from the basement. We all should turn in. Isaac, you take first watch."

With a lone candle resting on the floor next to me, I sit near the front door watching the outside from the small hole we've cut out. The silence is deafening, but it's broken by a piercing scream from somewhere outside. Scanning the street, I see a woman running down the street in tattered clothes. I can't really tell with the lack of light, but I think there's blood running from her neck.

She falls to her knees just as a pair of walking dead appear. They pounce on her. I turn away as the grisly sounds echo across the neighborhood. Suddenly a car comes storming down the street. It crashes into the corpses, obliterating them. The driver looses control of their vehicle and crashes into a house on the other side of the street. The car starts on fire. I hear moans of the dead as they're drawn towards the light.

_This is only the beginning_, I realize with a jolt of panic. _It's about to get much, much worse._

*Note: No Wal-Mart stores were damaged in the writing of this fanfiction. I don't own Wal-Mart, and I certainly don't have anything against the company.


End file.
